小時候,家裡吃飯都是用米通碗。我除了覺得那透光的的米通花比較特別而多看兩眼之外,我從來沒有認真正眼看過它。它只是一個尋常的存在,不丑也不好看,就連它甚麼時候在飯桌上消失,我也沒有任何記憶。它再次走進我的視線時,我已經人到中年。幾年前,在法國小鎮的古董店,看見一套六只米通碗和瓷匙,看上去非常新淨,連燒製時的「支釘」的痕跡也沒有磨掉,好像完全沒有用過似的,價錢也不貴。在陳列櫃前想了一會,出於懷念,把它們買了下來。這時候,我才第一次認真看這只曾經無處不在的米通碗,也第一次覺得原來它是挺好看的-有點像鄰家小姑娘,雖不是美貌天仙,卻是親切好看,那些通透的米花還有點可愛。於是,我小時候吃飯用的米通碗,又悄然回到家中的飯桌上,仍然伴隨着那一句「食飯要食得乾乾淨淨,唔可以剩低飯粒,要有衣食」,不過現在這句話的對象換成是我女兒了。人生的記憶,就是這樣一點一滴塵封在這些日常生活的小器物當中,某天看到了,就打開了一段記憶往事。
米通瓷中心的的花紋,有龍、有花、有鶴,我還是最喜歡花紋,看似普通,卻是十分耐看。直接將花紋做成花紐,甚至有幾分綺麗。要耐得住每天觀看、沒有覺得厭煩、沒有審美疲勞,花紋設計還是得有點心思。
米通瓷的歷史我就不在這裡介紹了,有興趣的朋友可以自己搜搜。我只想說,其實它有一個更亮麗的名字,它叫「青花玲瓏瓷」。
Rice grain porcelain used to be popular tableware in Hong Kong, you can easily spot them in ordinary household and restaurants. From the 90s onwards it slowly became out of fashion and faded away. Few years ago I saw a set of rice grain porcelain bowls and spoons in a small town in France, fine quality and almost-like-new. I bought them home as a souvenir of my childhood, and since then rice grain porcelain becomes my home tableware again, just like when I was a kid. Basic design of all the rice grain porcelains are more or less the same, the big difference lays in the centre of the bowl / dish – the center drawing can be flower, dragon or crane. This floral button is the exact copy of its flower pattern. The flower pattern looks nice on the bowl, and it also looks great on cheongsam.